CMW 2007: Wil

Hometown: Vancouver Island, BC
Official Website: www.ibreakstrings.com
Members:
Wil (vocals and guitars)
Pat Stewart (live drums)

So, you're about to play the big industry event that is Canadian Music Week. What's the most shameless thing you've ever done to promote yourself?
Wil: I wear my merchandise every day and I have for five years. The only shirt that anyone has ever seen me in is my "I Break Strings" shirt. It's so shameless that it's beyond shameless now. It might even be considered cool because it's been five years now. If you want to talk about shameless stuff, I've got a bunch of stuff going on.

What's the hardest part about being an up-and-coming musician?
The hardest part is that I've been up-and-coming for 13 years.

Describe your best and worst gigs ever.
As many musicians who play full-time will tell you, it's hard to remember all of them, so I can't say that I have a "best gig ever." I probably have a best show that I can recall right now. That would be being on tour with Gomez, any of the shows I did with Gomez could have easily been the best show. But there are so many others that I don't want to piss anyone off.      

Worst: I've been really lucky in 13 years and I've only had a few really shitty shows, which is very fortunate. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I was booked for a birthday party by a woman who saw me play and went crazy. She said "I will pay you whatever you want to play for my friend's 50th birthday." It was all of these stuffy, upper-crust pretentious assholes that... it was so brutal and even she was brutal. She wouldn't even recognize or account for the fact that she booked me. It was so inappropriate and I was so wrong. They needed a jazz quartet.

How important is it for you to "circulate and flirt" with the audience before or after the show?
I enjoy it a great deal after. Prior to the show it's not really the best thing you can do as far as headspace and getting prepared. I'm a chatty Cathy and really social, so if I went out and mingled with people before the show I would do it to the point where I wouldn't even remember that I had to go onstage. So right after the show it's very important. As anyone would say fans are the number one reason and most important thing that keeps us doing this, so I try to hang out and talk to everybody and sign CDs.

Have you ever stolen from someone else's rider? If so, who was it and what did you take?
Oh God, yeah. Beer. And one time my old drummer tucked a big huge giant bag of Planter's Peanuts down the front of his pants at the Commodore. This other band had everything and we had nothing. For the most part everyone we have toured with has given us their rider as well, which is very gracious. But I've totally ripped off the rider. We usually get two waters and a napkin.

Have you ever been graded before according to ChartAttack.com's Rock 'n' Roll Report Cards?
I don't think so. I'm the least known busiest guy out there.

Have you done anything new or interesting this week?
I do something interesting every day, I don't know why. I've never been in a band. I've only played with my drummer. Yesterday was the first time in my life that I played with a third person and we rehearsed for 12 hours.

Wil play the Horseshoe Tavern on Saturday, March 10 @ 8 p.m. as part of the annual Chart/Horseshoe/Canadian Music Week showcase.